Sky Sports host Emma Paton opens up on Luke Littler rise and being Queen of the Palace ahead of World Darts Championship
NEVER mind Gavin and Stacey, The King, Corrie and EastEnders.
Emma Paton will be on our telly more than any other person this festive season as presenter of Sky Sports’ coverage of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
There will be a whopping 106 hours of arrows beamed into living rooms over the next three weeks.
The TV Queen of the Palace has opened up to SunSport about the epic tournament on her favourite dinosaur costumes, eating Celebrations chocolates in the studio and being the glamorous new face of the sport.
On being on TV more than anyone this Christmas, she admitted: “I’ve actually never thought of it like that! It’s just a luxury to talk about something you love.
“I saw a post on X recently which said: ‘When you were a kid Christmas was all about presents, as an adult Christmas is about darts’. That summed it up really well actually.
“This year there’s been more interest than ever in the weeks leading up to it.
“I was in Sky Sports News this week doing football promos and all that people wanted to talk about was the darts. There’s so much more hype.
“I work with some great people like John Part, Wayne Mardle and Mark Webster.
“I’ve been lucky to come to darts at a time when it feels like it has exploded.
“There’s always been stories and darts has been brilliant for characters, back to the likes of Eric Bristow.
“Before both the Lukes, Michael van Gerwen was this mean machine character and Peter Wright colourful and crazy.
“Turning up last year at the Worlds, Luke Humphries had been a robot winning machine almost with wins before the Ally Pally.
“But then seeing the Littler story unfold in front of our eyes, it’s like that age old saying, sport just isn’t scripted. You just don’t know what is going to happen.
“The last couple of years I’ve been lucky to be the storytelling part of it.
“It’s weird being in that studio because you are in a prime location, like in a dream-like state, because you are above everything.
“When I’m in there with the likes of John Part, Wayne Mardle and Mark Webster, the lights are on, there’s monitors in front of you and you can see the output.
“But when the play is on the stage, it’s very quiet in there with just one cameraman and one sound guy or girl. We are just watching the darts and making notes. You just flit into a time when you are a fan.
“We’ve had so many big stories. Fallon Sherrock exploded onto the scene and she was suddenly on breakfast TV and Billie Jean King was messaging her on social media.
“The greatest leg then happened, that went on for weeks and Michael Smith was on TV even in America.
“Rocking up to the Ally Pally last year for the final and the amount of news crews there, everyone wanted to talk about it. That has continued throughout the year.
“I turn up hours before and Sarah-Jane Mee from Sky News was already there in make-up. That’s how big the story was, I was almost taken aback!”
Darts certainly has a different persona nowadays from the early halcyon era of the 80s. Darts has gone from beer bellies and bullseyes to beauties!
Paton, 30, is the ultimate professional. She has a degree in Sport and Exercise Science from Loughborough University and a Master’s in Sports Journalism from St Mary’s University Twickenham.
She had previously worked as part of the media team for Team GB during the 2012 London Olympics.
Paton heads a presenting squad along with the likes of the brilliant Polly James, Abigail Davies and Laura Turner.
She added: “I’m lucky to work for Sky who have pushed women forward and we deserve to be in certain roles.
“We have Laura Turner, the best female commentator in darts, Polly James and Abigail Davies as reporters.
“The sport has evolved as well. The pathway was in years gone by pubs and clubs. Now it’s youth academies.
“Some of the players are more on the athlete side of the spectrum. Luke Humphries has massively prioritised diet and speaking to a psychologist.
“The Littler effect has made a big difference with the demographic. The amount of under-35s watching darts has almost doubled. The female viewership is also at an all-time high.
“Littler has taken the sport where it’s never been before. On the Jonathan Ross sofa, Boohooman advert and nominated for Sports Personality of the Year.”
Paton, a former 400 metre runner, is often seen by her 207,000 followers on Instagram going through a gruelling training regime. But she admits it’s tougher during the Worlds.
She added: “When you say super-fit that makes me laugh, I’m not that!
“Weirdly training has become more important now to me than ever before. If I don’t train for a week, I go a bit stir crazy!
“During the Worlds it’s tough because it’s quite a relentless tournament. Before it starts I plan out when I can go out for a run and go to a hotel gym.
“I stay off the mince pies but I’ll be honest, I’m not someone who is super restrictive. Generally I’m all about balance.
“If you saw me in the studio you’d see packets of different sweets, the Celebrations box is always open. That’s all I eat during the show!
“You never really stop. We get a couple of days off for Christmas.
“The first day is spent recovering from the previous nine days. The 25th you will try and relax and then 26th you are prepping for the next day back at the Ally Pally. I’m not quite looking at research notes while eating my turkey, but it’s not far off it!
Paton once admitted that her first World Darts Championship as presenter started by watching a fan dressed as a TRAFFIC CONE throw up into his shoe.
She added: “I definitely fan watch. We’ve all seen the traffic cones, Mario and Luigi, the nuns. Nowadays it needs to be even more out there to catch my eye.
“It’s hard to be different these days. I like the inflatable dinosaur costumes. I think of that person sitting there for hours. It will be good to see if there’s any new ideas this year!”